ZACH DUNCAN: Colombia and France prove to be pretenders

The World Cup has an uncanny knack of squashing dreams from the unproven.

Colombia entered its quarterfinal having played dazzling soccer the past two weeks. France looked sublime during its eight-goal outburst in group play.

Neither country is alive right now after conglomerates Brazil and Germany powered through in one-goal semifinal victories.

Those two countries have combined for eight World Cup titles, and while both have looked susceptible at being upset during this tournament, they rode early goals Friday to victories.

Both teams scored in the first 15 minutes on set pieces. Mats Hummels powered his way through the French defense for a 13th-minute header that snuck underneath the crossbar. Brazil's first goal came even earlier when Thiago Silva snuck behind Colombia's defense on a corner kick less than seven minutes in.

While several teams rallied from one-goal deficits early in this tournament, it's more difficult during the knockout stages. Brazil, which scored again on David Luiz's beautiful free kick, and Germany looked like seasoned pros in making sure their early leads held.

ESPN announcer Ian Darke described Brazil as having "only odd dashes of their old flair." That's absolutely spot-on. But without a super team in this tournament, it's more important to endure than be sexy.

n Germany's quarterfinal failed to live up to its billing, but a record-setting fourth consecutive World Cup semifinal is impressive.

However, Germany has only won one of the first three semifinals. In 2002, the Germans slipped by South Korea but fell to Brazil in the finals. That marked the first of three straight setbacks against the eventual winner in the World Cup.

n Earning a second yellow card in a five-game span for a defender is understandable. All it takes is two ill-timed challenges during that span to earn a suspension.

But Thiago's Silva second yellow card Friday is unfathomable. The Brazilian captain impeded a punt from Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina, a juvenile play that could prove costly with his absence against Germany in the semifinals.

With star forward Neymar also suffering a tournament-ending injury, it's difficult to see Brazil advancing without two of its most important players.